EXPLAINER: Rationale behind Uhuru’s Continuous Extension of Dusk to Dawn Curfew

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday extended the dusk to dawn curfew countrywide for an additional 60 days, disappointing a section of Kenyans who were hoping that the curfew will be lifted.

In his address during the Covid-19 conference, President Kenyatta noted that effective September 29, 2020, the curfew will start at 11:00pm up to 4am in the morning.

“One, that the nationwide curfew in force throughout the territory of the Republic of Kenya is extended for a further sixty (60) days… Two, that the commencement time for the nationwide curfew is varied from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Therefore, effective tomorrow, Tuesday the 29th September, 2020 the national wide dusk-to-dawn curfew will run from 11:00 o’clock in the night to 4:00 o’clock in the morning,” he said.

Following the announcement, a section of Kenyan took to social media, questioning whether the virus is active at night, to justify the continuous extension of the curfew.

Expert opinion on the importance of a night curfew

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Dr. Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO AMREF Health Africa noted that the night present opportunities that increase risk of the spread of the virus as compared to day time.

In his argument, Dr Gitahi opined that at day there are more controlled conditions and therefore less risk of spreading the virus as compared to night.

“The night presents opportunities that increase the risk of transmission because if people are socializing in clubs; remember they are indoors, they are crowded, there is contact and in most cases they are speaking loudly over the speaker. Therefore, the air circulation, air borne transmission and contact are